Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Purchases 14,190 Shares of SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its holdings in SM Energy Company (NYSE:SM - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,715 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,190 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. owned 0.16% of SM Energy worth $5,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 200.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in SM Energy by 172.8% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 80.7% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $164,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of SM Energy by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,730 shares of the energy company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company's stock.

SM Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SM stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $28.43. 3,248,337 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,979,189. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $24.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.24. SM Energy Company has a 52 week low of $19.67 and a 52 week high of $48.49.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $844.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.62 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 27.61% and a return on equity of 19.90%. SM Energy's revenue was up 50.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy Company will post 8.1 earnings per share for the current year.

SM Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. SM Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SM. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SM Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of SM Energy from $54.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $39.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of SM Energy from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.08.

SM Energy Profile

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.